Ashley followed Draco down the long corridors and winding staircases of Malfoy Manor as they made their way down to the bottom level. Waiting there for them was none other than Lucius Malfoy.
When he spotted them, he said,
"Ashley, how lovely it is to see you again. I presume that you are doing well?"
Ashley nodded curtly, pondering the reasons as to why he was there. Of course, the worst thoughts had come further up on the stairs, but as time progressed, they only became more daunting.
"I suppose you are wondering as to the reason I have picked today to come to visit." Without waiting for an answer, Lucius continued, "Unfortunately, this is no social calling, though I wish it was,"
Ashley and Draco both tensed, and Draco moved closer to Ashley to offer support.
"You see, it has just been brought to my attention that - my, my, have those crystal goblets always been there?"
The other two exchanged a look and Draco impatiently said,
"Father, what is it exactly that you wished to tell us?"
"Ah, yes, that. It has recently come to my attention that a reporter from the Daily Prophet has caught wind of the fact that your release was considerably earlier than originally intended, and is planning on writing a story that would expose the fact to the general public."
Ashley's eyebrows shot into her hair in shock.
"What? You're kidding, right? This is all some strange and twisted joke that senile old fools take extreme joy in playing on recently freed convicts, right?"
Lucius shook his head and responded, ignoring the senile comment.
"I'm afraid not. Now, if something is not done to quell this story, I'm afraid that the Malfoy name would lose quite a bit of the respect and honor that it has come to uphold over the years."
Draco and Ashley stared incredulously at Lucius. Eventually, Draco gained enough sense back to speak.
"Then what do you expect us to do about it?"
"I'll kill 'em for you if you want." Ashley chimed in, a malicious grin spreading over her face. "You know what they saw, once a killer, always a killer."
"Ashley, no. Think about Victoria. What would she think if her mother was to be sent straight back to Azkaban after just being reunited with her after eleven years?"
Ashley growled softly and took a seat on one of the white couches to sulk.
"There is no doubt that this threat must be dealt with." Lucius went on as if nothing had happened. "Which is why I'm here to ask you, Draco, to deal with it."
"Blackmail?"
Lucius nodded.
"Exactly. Now, the name of the reporter is Ronald Weasley. I believe you two are familiar...?"
At the sound of Ron's name, Ashley shot up from her seat, just in time to see Kerri and Celia sneaking successfully out the front door.
"WHAT! You're kidding, right?"
Lucius shook his head.
"I'm afraid not. Feel free to do whatever you feel necessary to deal with this threat. And tell Victoria I send her my best."
With that, Lucius Disapperated from the room, leaving Ashley and Draco staring in shock at the place where he had stood moments before.
Meanwhile, at Hogwarts
Everything had returned to normal at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry upon the end of Parent's Day the week before. Victoria and Morgan sat on their respective beds in their dormitory, discussing the particularly strenuous Quidditch practice session they had just been forced to endure. The end in particular had proved interesting, as Keisha had pulled Victoria aside to speak to her alone.
"So, Victoria, you never told me your mother played Quidditch."
Victoria shrugged.
"I never knew. Why, is that important?"
Keisha stared at her.
"'Is that important?', honestly! Of course it's important! It means you have more Quidditch genes than most people know what to do with! This is great!"
With that, Keisha proceeded to practically strangle Victoria in a bone-crushing hug.
"I've said it before, and I'll say it again," Morgan commented. "That girl is psycho."
Victoria nodded.
"Yeah, but she seems to know something about how Quidditch is played, unlike the dunderhead Captain of the Gryffindor team."
"Mm, what was his name again? Jakob something-or-another?"
"Yeah, that sounds about right. Wood, maybe?"
"Could be. Talk about stupid last names. It's right up there with that moron Weasley kid."
"Yeah, it is. We should mock her later."
"Mm, but tomorrow. Right now all I want to do is sleep."
Victoria rolled her eyes as she was met with Morgan's light snores.
"And you weren't even the one playing."
